Eument-net

Eument-net is a European Network of Mentoring Programmes for the Advancement of Equal Opportunities and Cultural and Institutional Change in Academia and Research, partnership - association with no shared legal obligations - of mentoring programmes linked to academic or research institutions which provides support and experience exchange for mentoring program coordinators.

2018

We are plannig to set cooperation between mentoring coordinators, experts and researchers in motion. For this purpose we are preparing a mentoring panel “Mentoring programs - a part of cultural and institutional change in academia and research” and a workshop for 10th European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education which will be held 20-22 August in Dublin.

Objectives

The eument-net aims at promoting the advancement of equal opportunities and careers and access to decision making positions of women and other underrepresented groups in academia and research in Europe through mentoring programmes as part of institutional, national and European strategies for HR development and institutional and cultural change in academia and research. We focus on supporting mutual learning and exchange of experience among coordinators of mentoring programmes, and on popularizing and consulting activities for which we use analysis of our members and other mentoring experts and researchers.

In 2007, eument-net has started as a project supported by FP6. It was a project of consortium of five partners from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany and Switzerland. Since 2008, eument-net has been established as association, open to new members. Until today eument-net has 28 members from 6 countries.

In november 2017, we've met in Paha for de General assembly and we've decided to change our legal status and Statutes. For being more flexible and inclusive we decided to be simple partnership-association with no shared legal obligations. Until then, only mentoring programs could be full members with rights to vote and put forward candidates for election to the organizational structures of the association. It meant disadvantage for individuals or institutions that recognized the goal of the eument-net but were from European regions where gender equality policies in academia had no longer history and where, consequently, were not established mentoring programs yet. We evaluated this state as indirect discrimination based on the lack of financial resources and political will of institutional decision makers to establish own mentoring programs and also as a barrier for fulfilling eument-net goal which requires discussion with and support from people in decision making positions. And experience exchange in eument-net can prepare you better for this discussions.

For these reasons we would like to use this opportunity to announce that participation in eument-net is no longer conditioned by having own mentoring program, not only programs can be members but also individuals, departments, institutions. And we want to especially encourage people and institutions from Central and Eastern Europe to enter the eument-net. We will be very happy if we will hear stronger voice from this region in eument-net to understand more deeply dynamics of (not only) gender inequalities in academia in Europe.

widened the thematic scope

From the network of mentoring programmes promoting women’s careers (former title was European Network of Mentoring Programmes for Women in Academia and Research) we transformed to a network of mentoring programmes tackling all inequalities that pose barriers for a career in academia and research. We hope that this transformation will enable eument-net to contribute more effectively to cultural and institutional change of academic landscape in way that will be more inclusive for women and other currently underrepresented groups. Therefore, we invite to eument-net also those mentoring programs that are not for women only but recognize and support eument-net goal.

How it works

eument-net is a simple partnership-association (with no shared legal obligations) of mentoring programmes linked to academic or research institutions. Members can be academic or research institutions, who coordinate a mentoring programme promoting cultural and institutional change in academia or research who recognize the purpose of the association and are ready to promote it. Beside members, eument-net has also associate members - individuals or institutions, who recognize the purpose of the association and are ready to promote it and who either consider setting up a mentoring programme promoting or have specific scientific or professional expertise related to the aim of the Association. Members and associate members have equal rights.